Understanding & Experiencing Port Wine

COLL 127: Psychology of Taste Percepon Spring Semester, 2012

Alternate Titles: 1. Can I really wait 20 years to drink a bole of wine? 2. Can I taste the difference between a $15 bole of Port and a $200 bole of Port? hp://www.cs.rice.edu/~keith/Talks/Coll127.pdf Warning

While producers in Australia, California, and Bryan, TX all make wines that they market as “Port”, I will ignore these wines and focus on Port as it has been made for centuries—a rich forfied wine from the Douro region of Portugal.

Porto is highly regulated • Grapes from demarcated region • Producon and maturaon at vineyard or in Villa Nova de Gaia • Wine cerfied by Instuto do Vino do Porto (IVDP) ⇾ Quanty & quality controlled ⇾ Grape prices are controlled • We will sck to “Porto”

COLL 127: Port Wine 1 The Origins of Port

Port Has A Long History • Romans terraced the land and planted farms & vineyards ⇾ Roman grapes ⇒ insipid wines ⇾ Varying rulers introduced new varietals, up unl about 1756 ⇾ About 48 recognized grape variees used in the Douro • Portuguese love of codfish + English love of red wine led to alliance ⇾ 1353: fishing rights for wine ⇾ 1386: broad protecon for cizens & commercial venture ª Strong expat community in Oporto

COLL 127: Port Wine 2 The Origins of Port

Port Has A Long History • French-Brish wars deprived the English of access to claret ⇾ Turned to “Portuguese Red” ⇾ Oen spoiled in transit ⇾ Adding local brandy helped • A sweet tooth changed Portuguese Red into modern Port ⇾ In 1678, two young Englishmen were given a dessert wine by the abbot at monastery in Lamego ª He added brandy early to stop fermentaon & preserve sugar ⇾ English firms created demand for this wine over next 50 years

COLL 127: Port Wine 3 Port Wine

Port Is Highly Regulated • Grapes from demarcated region in the Douro • Wine blended & matured either at the vineyard or in Villa Nova de Gaia

The Instuto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto • Controls quanes & styles • Controls appellaon ⇾ Seal of guarantee required for wines from Douro and wines sold as “porto” ⇾ Denotes inspecon & approval • Vintage ports must be registered with IVDP & samples must be sent to IVDP ⇾ IVDP had an incredible tasng room in Oporto

COLL 127: Port Wine 4 Tasng Porto

Taylor-Fladgate commissioned a study by Jean Lenoir to invesgate the smell sensaons that occur in Port. He found twelve dominant aromas. • Coffee, caramel, blackcurrant, cherry, oak, chocolate (or cocoa), raspberry, walnut, plum, liquorice, vanilla, and violet. • Many others claim to smell and taste cinnamon. • Coffee, chocolate, & cinnamon come from the brandy and from the burnt staves of the casks

What causes the tastes and aromas? • Different grapes and different years • Coffee, chocolate, & cinnamon come from the burnt staves of the casks • Nuness is caused by acetaldehyde • Berry tastes (strawberry, raspberry) come from butanol Don’t worry. Idenfying these aromas & tastes seems to be an acquired skill.

COLL 127: Port Wine 5 Tasng Porto Grab a glass of the young Port

Direcons 1. Do not overfill the glass (less than 1/3 full) Glasses: 2. Observe the wine (at angle over white surface) An ISO tasng glass is almost 3. Nose the wine ideal. A moderate-size red wine → Swirl to release aromas, sniff gently & deeply glass is close. 4. Taste → Swirl and chew Foods To Accompany Port: → Take in some air to release extra flavors • Dark chocolate 5. Spit out the wine • Cheese → Who are we kidding? Swallow it unless it is → Slton with ruby or tawny bad → Mild cheddar with vintage • Nuts Try some of the accompanying foods → Walnuts → Cheese, chocolate, almonds → Marcona almonds • Try them

COLL 127: Port Wine 6 The Port Hierarchy

Port is one of the few wines that has a disnct hierarchy, more akin to whiskeys than to zinfandels. • Young Ports Two to three years in wood ⇾ White Port — four to six for “special” ⇾ Ruby or “reserve wines ⇾ Tawny Filtered and/or fined Young, powerful wines • Aged Tawny Ports ⇾ Indicated age Tawny (10, 20, 30, & 40 years old) ⇾ Colheita • Vintage Port Single harvest ⇾ Tradional Vintage Port Two years in wood ⇾ Single Quinta Vintage Port Bole matured ⇾ Late-Boled Vintage Port Four to six years in wood Filtered and finned or tradional

COLL 127: Port Wine 7 Styles of Port Do we need to taste the Colheita yet?

Ports That Are Aged Exclusively In Wood

Wines Years in wood From 1 to 3 4 to 6 7 or more Comments Mulple Young ruby, At this age, “tawny” is ruby Years tawny, white + white

Mulple “Reserve” Produced every year Young Ports Years ruby, tawny Mulple Indicated Age is an average. Tawny Years age tawny color is from oxidaon.

Single Late-Boled Developed, in part, for Stabilized (filtered & fined) Year Vintage restaurant trade Single Single-year aged tawny Beer inial wines Colheita

Year Oen, a good price point volale Produced in good years • These wines are boled “ready to serve”

COLL 127: Port Wine 8 Styles of Port

Ports That Are Bole Aged

Wines Years in wood From 1.5 to 2 4 to 6 7 or more Comments Mulple Vintage port Addional 18+ years in the Vineyards bole Mulple Late-boled “Tradional” style, will age Vineyards vintage further in bole Single Single Quinta Like Vintage, but oen less Vineyard Vintage Port complex flavors Single Single Like LBV, but oen less

Vineyard quinta LBV complex flavors Produced only in declared years Mulple Tradional Read the label and look at Vineyard Colheita the cork • All of these wines require decanng • Most benefit from an hour or two of air

COLL 127: Port Wine 9 The Mysteries of Port

• Decanng ⇾ serves two purposes: removes sediment & lets wine breathe ⇾ Need a funnel and, perhaps, a filter, plus a lile pracce ⇾ The Graham’s ‘83 was decanted before class & put back in the bole • Timing ⇾ With a bole of vintage Port, the big queson is when to drink it ⇾ Online reviews might help • Purchasing Port ⇾ Prices are illogical & inconsistent; research online ⇾ In Houston, go to Specs downtown ⇾ Decide what to buy before you go

COLL 127: Port Wine 10 What Should You Buy?

• Decide what style you like ⇾ Taste a few, experiment • Tawnies are easy to find ⇾ By the glass in bars & restaurants ⇾ Tawny shows winemaker’s skill • If you like vintage, consider LBV except for special occasions ⇾ Most people cannot tell a good LBV from a Vintage Port ⇾ Vintage can be expensive, unless you wait 20 years

If you get serious about Port • Lay down cases in a cool, stable place • Wait a long me, then wonder when to drink it

COLL 127: Port Wine 11